“Turn here. It’s two blocks down and then take the next right. Gray-and-white house. I’ll say a prayer you get what you want.”
Moss almost braked the car. Any other girl would have said she would keep her fingers crossed. This one was going to pray for him. Impulsively, he reached across the seat and took her hand. It felt small and fragile in his. He released it a moment later to shift gears and pull to a stop in front of the house. He glanced at his watch. “Five minutes to six,” he announced proudly, as though getting her home on time had been a monumental task.
Billie wondered where her friends were. Were they worrying about her? “Would you like to come in and meet my mother? Oh, but you’ve probably got other things to do, and I do appreciate your taking the time to bring me home. I’m sorry I’ve been such a nuisance.”
“You, sweet Billie, are anything but a nuisance.” He smiled, realizing he’d meant what he said. But Jesus, he didn’t want to go in and meet her mother. He loved his mother but other people’s made him nervous, especially girls’ mothers. Hell, he was here . . . maybe she was afraid she was going to catch it and he could help matters. All in the line of duty. “I’d like to meet your mother,” he lied.
Billie almost fainted. That wasn’t what he was supposed to say. Didn’t he know she was only trying to be polite? She didn’t wait for him to come around to open the door for her. Instead, she leaped out, smoothing down the skirt of her jumper. Suddenly, the fringe along the hem seemed girlishly silly and trendy, and for the second time that day she wished she were wearing stockings and heels.
Agnes Ames’s eyes narrowed when she heard the sound of a car door closing in front of the house. None of Billie’s friends drove a car. She parted the lace curtains slightly and peered out. Billie and a navy man. An officer, considering the dress whites. What could have happened? She wouldn’t panic. Billie was a responsible child. A serious, responsible child.
“Mother! I’m home. Come and meet someone.”
Moss Coleman stood a good six inches taller than Agnes, yet he was immediately aware of her strength, as if she were his height or even taller. It was in the measuring, brown eyes and in the subtle squaring of the shoulders . . . . He’d seen the same signs of character in Seth. Pearls. Why did they always wear pearls? It seemed every girl’s mother he’d ever met was adorned with them.
Billie broke the silence. “Mother, this is Moss Coleman. He was nice enough to bring me home so I wouldn’t be late. Moss, this is my mother, Mrs. Ames.” He waited to see if Mrs. Ames would offer her hand. She didn’t.
Billie was beginning to feel desperate. Agnes was standing her ground, staring at Moss with suspicion. “I’ve invited Moss to dinner tomorrow. He’s from Texas and it’s been a long time since he’s had a home-cooked meal. I knew you wouldn’t object,” Billie prompted hopefully.
“Dinner. Of course. We’d like to have you for dinner, Lieutenant,” Agnes offered.
Moss wondered if Mrs. Ames meant she’d like to have him as a guest or for the main course! But hold on a minute, he’d never accepted the invitation. Somebody was being railroaded here and he thought he knew who. “I wouldn’t want to impose, Mrs. Ames,” he said in his best-bred Texan, just a shade short of humble. Before he could politely make excuses, Agnes forced something that passed for a smile.
“Fine. Shall we say around two? I want to thank you for bringing my daughter home. It was very considerate of you. She’s very young and I worry when she’s late.” There it was, the gentle nudge, the reminder that he was suspected of being a troll who lived under a bridge and preyed on innocent young girls.
“It was my pleasure, ma‘am,” Moss drawled. “Billie, thank you for the invitation. I have to get the car back to the yard. Nice meeting you, ma’am.”
He still hadn’t said if he was coming to dinner and Billie felt wretched as she watched him walk out to the car, Agnes’s words about her youth still smarting.
Outside in the car, Moss exhaled a long, gusty sigh. He didn’t think he wanted to come to dinner. But Sundays were always so boring you could want to tear your hair out, and it had been nice talking with Billie. If he didn’t have anything better to do, he’d show up around two o’clock. If something came up, he’d send a note.
Before Agnes could question her daughter, Billie rushed into a lengthy explanation. “I think it was very nice of him to bring me home, don’t you, Mother?”
“Billie, you broke how many rules this afternoon?” Agnes said frigidly.
“Mother, please. Do we have to go into all of this? I’m home, safe and sound. Nothing happened. The lieutenant is charming. He didn’t say he was coming to dinner and I’m certain he has other plans, so don’t count on it. I’m sorry if I upset you.”
Agnes sniffed. It was her usual reaction to Billie’s apologies. Once, just once, Billie would have liked to hear that she was forgiven, or at least that her mother understood.
“I think I’ll go up to my room and get ready for supper.”
“I moved your room downstairs to the study. Mr. Campbell from next door and his nephew helped move down the furniture. I’m going to rent your room. We really have to do our bit, Billie. The housing situation is reaching crisis proportions.”
Billie only knew that someone else was going to live in her room, the only place she’d been able to call her own since she was a little girl. “I wish you had told me, Mother. I don’t mind the change, but I would have liked to pack my things myself. Did you go through everything? Even my pictures?” Billie felt violated.
“Everything. Go see for yourself. Now you’ll have the window seat. You can sit there tomorrow and watch the road to see if your handsome lieutenant shows up for dinner.” Agnes smiled.
Billie glanced at her mother. She’d just been bought. Agnes’s seeming acceptance of having Moss for Sunday dinner was supposed to soothe the wound of having been moved lock, stock, and barrel out of her room. And she had to accept the terms of truce; otherwise, if Moss did come tomorrow, she could count on Agnes’s sulky indifference, which could make Billie squirm as though she had fire ants in her bloomers.
It wasn’t fair. It just wasn’t fair. At least Agnes could have asked before renting out her bedroom from under her. Billie wandered into the study and looked at the window seat with its velvet cushion. It would be a delightful place to curl up with a book. She had a clear view of the drive and the street. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all.
Agnes remained in the hall at the bottom of the stairs, head cocked to one side as though she were listening to a distant noise. The sound she heard was her inner voice murmuring questions concerning Billie. Her perfectly nice and gifted daughter had returned to the house this evening and there was something different about her that had nothing to do with the lipstick or with the artificial blush applied to her cheeks.
Author photo by M2IFOTO © 2006
FERN MICHAELS is the USA Today and New York Times bestselling author of the Sisterhood and Godmother series, Tuesday’s Child, Southern Comfort, Betrayal, Return to Sender, and dozens of other novels and novellas. There are more than 70 million copies of her books in print. Fern Michaels has built and funded several large day-care centers in her hometown and is a passionate animal lover who has outfitted police dogs across the country with special bulletproof vests. She shares her home in South Carolina with her four dogs and a resident ghost named Mary Margaret.
Visit her website at fernmichaels.com.
THE BLOSSOM SISTERS
In a richly rewarding novel filled with unforgettable characters, #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels explores the enduring bonds of family as one man loses everything—only to find the freedom to create a bold new life....
Gus Hollister owes all his success to his feisty grandmother, Rose, and he knows it. It was Rose and her sisters, Iris and Violet, who raised Gus, sent him to the best schools, and helped him start his own accounting business. Rose even bought the house Gus lives in with his wife, Elaine.
&
nbsp; But now, Gus stands to lose everything: his home, his car, and his business. Worse, he’s alienated his beloved grandma, who tried to warn him about Elaine’s greedy, gold-digging ways. Gus, blinded by infatuation, refused to listen, so Elaine has locked him out of the house he was foolish enough to put in her name.
Heartsick and remorseful, Gus returns to Rose’s Virginia farmhouse, seeking shelter. But it won’t be easy to make amends. Despite their pretty floral names, there’s nothing delicate about the Blossom sisters. Unbeknownst to Gus, they’ve also been running a very lucrative business from home and don’t want interference. Yet family and forgiveness go hand in hand, and Gus isn’t giving up.
With the help of close friends, new associates, and some very sprightly ladies, Gus begins to repair the damage he’s done and help the residents of Blossom Farm begin the next phase of their business. He might even be finding the courage to love again. Because no matter how daunting it can be to start over, the results can surpass your wildest expectations—especially when the Blossom sisters are in your corner....
A Kensington trade paperback on sale May 2013!
BALANCING ACT
One of the most acclaimed storytellers of her time, #1 New York Times bestselling author Fern Michaels weaves unforgettable tales of love, family, friendship, and self-discovery. Together in one volume for the first time, here are two classic stories about following your heart—wherever it leads....
ALL SHE CAN BE
Rita Bellamy has had enviable success as an author, but it came at the expense of her marriage. Now she’s starting over in a small lakeside cottage, slowly rebuilding the confidence that was shattered. But is the younger man next door a fun, frivolous diversion or something much more?
FREE SPIRIT
Moving to Washington, D.C., to be with Griff should be the beginning of an exciting new chapter in Dory’s life. Yet there are adjustments, too, and sacrifices she never expected. And soon Dory must weigh the price of love against everything she hoped to gain....
A Zebra mass-market paperback on sale April 2013!
GOTCHA!
They’re back . . . !
In her much-loved New York Times bestselling Sisterhood series, Fern Michaels proves that payback is worth waiting for, especially when it’s delivered by expert hands. And although the Sisterhood has officially put their vigilante days (mostly) behind them, some challenges are impossible to resist....
The steadfast friends known as the Vigilantes have learned a lot since they started righting wrongs on behalf of underdogs everywhere. But sometimes justice is a long time coming. That’s the case with Julie Wyatt, whose story is one that sadly strikes close to home for the original founder of the Sisterhood, Myra Rutledge, and her best friend, and fellow Sister, Annie. Julie’s son, Larry, died under mysterious circumstances and Julie is convinced her greedy daughter-in-law, Darlene “Jimmy” Jimson, had something to do with it. She desperately wants to get a confession out of Darlene, and to ensure the safety of Larry’s daughter, Olivia.
Arriving at Julie’s home in picturesque Rosemont, Alabama, Myra and Annie begin to piece together a plan. There are other newcomers in town, too, including Julie’s new tenant, Mace Carlisle. As Mace warms to Julie’s wonderful home cooking and easy companionship, Myra and Annie dig deeper into Darlene’s shady dealings, closing in on her to set the trap. And as events unfurl in a way that no one could have predicted, each will learn the true meaning of loyalty, courage—and the kind of friendship that can create miracles....
A Zebra mass-market paperback on sale July 2013!
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Copyright © 1993 by Fern Michaels
Ballantine hardcover edition: February 1993
Ballantine mass market edition: March 1994
Fern Michaels is a registered trademark of First Draft, Inc.
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First Kensington Electronic Edition: May 2013
ISBN: 978-1-6018-3070-8
Texas Sunrise Page 34